Dear EFSA family & friends,

Each of you will, at this point, have felt the effects in one form or another, of the global pandemic Covid-19 virus.

Thankfully for many the consequences of the virus has meant nothing more than the inconvenience of having to stay at home in isolation but for others it has been a much more serious occurrence with family members falling seriously ill or even dying.

And whilst some countries have begun to ease their imposed restrictions, the World Health Organization (WHO) are asking all nations to be cautious as the infection rate, and possible re-infection rate, still remain unclear at this point in time.

We in EFSA have a responsibility, not just to our own members, but to the economies of the communities in the towns and villages who are kind enough to offer to host our international events every year and it would be remiss of us to put the livelihoods, indeed the very lives, of these people at risk – for the sake of, despite how much we love it, what is basically just a sport.

Therefore it is with a heavy heart, but in the knowledge that we are ‘doing the right thing’, that the decision has been taken at EFSA Executive level, to abandon all planned Boat Championships (including those in Denmark and England) for the rest of this year.

Hopefully by 2021 all will be well once again and we can look forward to our annual events in which the spirit of EFSA shines through as comradeship always outweighs competitiveness – but our events also always include the essential element of friendly rivalry between nations and individuals.